Book Covers: Inside the Abyss

I'm an impulse buyer at times. I've come to realize that and accept that. It's a situational affliction. That's a great deal. Or that looks real good. One of these days, I could just see myself falling. Into. Addiction. The fix. It would just be too much.

The part of the side I see myself like this is in bookstores. So I just happened to go to the bookstore recently to buy a birthday present for a cousin. I knew exactly what to buy and where to find it. I went straight to it.

But I was already inside the abyss. What harm could it be to just look around a little?

What struck my eye that day was I Love Dollars by Wen Zhu. It was not so much because of an author I had heard of (I hadn't) or praise from sources I respected (I didn't), but the cover, the cover, the cover.


Of course, I shouldn't give the cover all the credit, I was after all also intrigued by the synopsis of "a hilarious send-up of China's love affair with capitalism." It goes on to namedrop both Franz Kafka and Larry David, in describing the story collection as a synthesis of "slangy swagger" with "the inanities of everyday life in contemporary China."

But that wasn't the first thing to strike my eye.

I saw those gorgeous James Bond hardcovers:

And there are these new edition series of adventure books:

I'm reminded by all of this, that the Penguin Blog is a great interwebian destination, often detailing the beautiful process that goes into their covers.

Certificate Redeemed

This is a follow-up to this post from last Thursday.

So I ended up going with the Jane Jacobs. Now I may have read your comment, Anonymous, before my purchase, but honestly it had no bearing on my decision. I swear. Won't you reveal yourself, oh mysterious one?... with your tantalizing personal details... I can't believe you cut off all your hair.

Also, I bought the Voltaire too. Because I hate myself. So I have a Dover Thrift edition of Candide that I'm giving away for free.

Now let us never mention books again.

Certificate for a Fix

Work has long been an enabler for my book addiction, but never quite so literally. On Tuesday, I received a gift certificate for Chapters Indigo worth 10 dollars as a goodbye present for my contributions to the team (generic contributions, we all got one).

What to buy? I want to spend it soon; it's burning a hole in my pocket as well as my soul.

Suggestions are absolutely welcome. Here's some candidates from my usual scope and loiter at the book shops:

Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard

Candide by Voltaire (which I already own in cheapo version-- but look an edition with Chris Ware cover and French flaps!-- meaning I'd have a copy to give away afterwards)

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (the current frontrunner)

Weekly Wikipedia Find: Byford dolphin diving bell accident

I must be on some sort of aquatic kick. It's got stop man. The sweet highs, the bitter lows, they're becoming too much. I can see the intervention now... anyway, let's get back on topic.

The Byford dolphin diving bell accident was the explosive decompression of a Norwegian semi-submersible oil rig in 1983. One of the divers "violently exploded due to the rapid and massive expansion of internal gases." Horrendous as these events may be, they offer valuable real world scenarios in the effects of decompression, especially as it may pertain to space, or science fiction.

Wikipedia by Week

Week Ten: Deep-sea gigantism
Week Nine: Bloop
Week Eight: Rat king
Week Seven: Gustave Doré
Week Six: Tomorrow
Week Five: Borscht Belt
Week Four: Swampman
Week Three: Chinese room
Week Two: Ambrose Burnside
Week One: Lolita fashion